Coal-mining machine.



Patented May 9, 1911.

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COAL MINING MACHINE. ArPLIoATIoN' FILED 111111.11, 1910.

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E. ROUGH. COAL MINING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 11,111.11, 1910.

Patented May 9, 1911.

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.ELIVIER HOUGH, OF WELLSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.

COAL-MINING MACHINE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 11, 1910.

Patented `May 9, 1911.

Serial No. 548,683.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ELMER HoUGH, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Wellsburg, in the county of Brooke andState of Test Virginia, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Coal-Mining Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to mining machinery, and particularly to machinerydesigned for the purpose of mining coal, the object of the inventionbeing to provide a portable cutter mounted upon wheels and adapted to bemoved to any portion of the mine desired, the machine being providedwith a motor, a shaft operated by the motor, and a cutter adapted to beforced against the breast of the coal in any direction desired, theconstruction being such that the cutters are adapted to be operated at ahigh speed, and the device being so simple and portable that onelman mayoperate it and hold it up to the coa For a full understanding of theinvention and the merits thereof, and to acquire a knowledge of thedetails of construction, reference is to be had to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view showing the machine in operation, the cuttingmechanism being shown in sect-ion; Fig. 2 is a plan view of my device;Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the frame upon which the cutters anddrive shaft are supported. Fig. 4 is a vertical section through themotor casing and the tubular support. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. t.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters. n

Referring to these drawings, 2 designates supporting wheels of anydesired construction and supporting a motor casing 3 in which isdisposed an electric motor A. The shaft a of this motor extends outthrough the front of the motor casing and is connected by a coupling 4Lof any desired character with a shaft 5. This shaft 5 is supported inbearings 6 and 7 formed upon a tubular supporting member 8. r1`he formof this support-ing member is shown in Fig. 8, which consists of at-ubular body having at its end the two side portions 9 spaced from eachother to permit passage of the shaft 5.

These side portions are formed in part with a bearing 10 which extendsat right angles to the bearing 7 for the shaft 5. The side portions 9are cut away upon their opposite faces, as at 9a, to accommodate theinwardly projecting bits upon the cutting wheels. The bearing 10 is forthe support of the two oppositely disposed cutting disks 11. Both ofthese disks are of the same character and both are provided with theinwardly projecting hubs 18' which are inserted through the bearingformed in the extremity of the supporting member, as shown in Fig. 1 andare held together by the transverse bolt 14. These cutting disks areoppositely rotatable with regard to each other and are provided on theirperipheries Awith the projecting knives or bits 15. These knives or bitsare bolted or otherwise attached in any suitable manner to theperipheries of the cutt-ing` disks, the knives being held in place byset screws, the circumference of the cutting disks being so formed thatthe knives on each disk are set at various angles, some inclined in onedirection, some inclined in the lopposite direction, and some extendingout in alinement with the cutting disks themselves. The interior face ofeach of the disks is formed with atoothed gear 18 which is engaged by apinion 16 mounted on the eX- tremity of the shaft 5, just inward of thebearing 7. It will be seen that both of the cutting disks engage withthe pinion 16, and hence that thecutting disks will be rotated inopposite directions. While it is preferable to have these disks run inopposite directions to each other, I do not wish to limit myself to thisarrangement, as it is obvious that 1 may use gear ing in connection withmy machine, whereby the disks may be run in the same direction.Preferably, these disks run at a speed of three to four thousand feetper minute at the point of the cutting bit.

When the motor is in operation, the shaft 5 will be rotated, which inturn will rotate the cutting disks, and the apparatus is forced againstthe breast or face of the coal by means of the handles 17 attached tothe supporting frame of the machine in any desired manner. Preferably,the motor casing 3 is so connected to the supporting member 8 that thesupporting member may be rotated relative to the motor casing so thatthe cutters may be set at any angle desired for the purpose of shearingor cutting at right vangles to the fioor, or at any other angle whichmay be necessary. One means of securing this result is illustrated byme, which consists in providing the motor casing 3 with an annularshoulder 18 at its open end. The inner extremity of the tubular member Sis outwardly flanged, as at 19, this fiange fitting upon said shoulderand being rotatable thereon. Surrounding` the base of the tubular memberS is the clamping ring 20 which is bolted by bolts 21 to the end wallsof the motor casing 3 and is provided with a plurality of setscrews orlike devices 22 which engage the flange 19. By this means it will beseen that the tubular supporting member 8 may be rotated relative to themotor casing and that such rotation will act to rotate the plane of thecutters. Y

It is further desirable to provide means for elevating the motor casingabove the fioor of the tunnel or draft. To that end the wheels 2 uponwhich the motor casing is mounted are provided with a frame 23 uponwhich the motor casing may be elevated. A. brace 24 will 'hold the framein its elevated position.

I do not wish to limitmyself to any spe` cial means for elevating themotor casing upon the wheels as it is obvious that many differentconstructions might be used for this purpose without departing from thespirit of the invention.

I-Iaving thus described the invention, what I claim is l. A miningmachine including a wheeled frame, a motor casing, a motor inclosedwithin the casing, a tubular support rotatably engaged at its base withthe motor casing for rotation around its horizontal axis, the extremityof said support being flattened. and longitudinally recessed in linewith the hollow interior of the support, the extremity of the iattenedportion. of the support being formed with a transversely extendingbearing, opposed parallel cutting disks each having an inwardly directedhub extending into said bearing, the inner ends of said hubs contactingwith each other, a bolt passing through both of said cutting disks andholding them in place upon the bearing but permitting the cutting disksto be removed, a shaft connected to the motor extending through themotor casing and through the tubular support, the outer extremity of theshaft being supported in a bearing formed in the end wall of the recessin the iiattened portion of the support said shaft being posi tivelyhoused between the walls of said recess, a bevel gear wheel mounted onsaid shaft and engaging the inner faces of the disks to rotate them inopposite directions, and cutting knives mounted upon the cir cumferenceof the disks, certain of said knives extending radially outward, certainother of said knives projecting laterally, and certain other of theknives projecting toward the opposite cutting disk in an oppositedirection to the second named knives.

2. In a mining machine, an axially rotatable cutter support having atransverse bearing at its extremity, opposed cutting disks, each havingan inwardly directed hub extending into said bearing, the inner ends ofsaid hubs contact-ing with each other, a bolt passing through both ofsaid cutting disks and holding them in place upon the bearing butpermitting the cutting disks to be removed, a plurality of knivesprojecting from the periphery of each of the cutting disks, and meansoperatively engaged with the cutting disks for rotating the same.

3. A mining machine, including a motor casing, a motor within thecasing, a tubular rotatable support having a fianged base, an annularring bolted to the end wall of the casing and projecting over theiianged base of the support and holding it in place but permitting it tohave rotative movement, clamping means on the ring engaging the base topermit the rotatable support to be adjusted and held in its adjustedposition oppositely disposed cutting disks mounted on the extremity ofthe support, and means contained within the support for rotating saidcutting disks.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELMER HOUGH. [n s.

Witnesses M. E. BOYD, JOHN C. POENNET.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

